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A New Chapter- My Slimming World Journey

I have always been fat. At least, in my head I have always been fat, and always the same size. I look back at pictures now and realise that isn't the case. Since I am such a foodie I always want to be in the kitchen making new recipes and just generally creating. This coupled with an under-active thyroid and running a food blog that opens so many opportunities for eating in great restaurants and reviewing tasty products I have piled on the weight.

A few of my colleagues have seen great success on Slimming World, so I started looking into it. Their generous eating plan makes slimming easier than you ever thought possible! Instead of telling me what I can and can’t eat, Food Optimising puts me in control. I don’t even need to worry about weighing all my food, counting points or monitoring every mouthful! Looking at their recipes there is such a massive range of delicious food on offer, meaning I can still get my cooking fix while losing weight. Nick has agreed to follow the plan with me, although he doesn't need to be very strict as he doesn't have anything to lose! It just makes my life a bit easier when cooking, and is good for him as well.

The basic principles of the extra easy plan is this, I took this excerpt from Fat Girl Slim, who explains it better than I can!

Free FoodFree food is split into two groups - free and superfree. Superfree foods are fruit and vegetables which are free on all plans, no matter which you are following. These include (but are not limited to): Fruit - fresh or frozen but not cooked or tinned Vegetables - with a few exceptions such as peas, sweetcorn, parsnips, potato and sweet potatoOn the Extra Easy plan, these things are also free:Eggs - poached, scrambled, boiled, fried using low fat cooking spray - in fact any way you like as long as no fat is addedFat free and very low fat dairy - including plain and some fruit yoghurt, very low fat cottage cheese, very low fat fromage frais, skimmed milk soft cheese such as quarkMeat replacement, such as quorn, textured vegetable protein (TVP and tofu)Low calorie soft drinks, black tea and coffeeThere also also things like stock cubes, dried herbs and other seasonings that are free. Also, fat free salad dressings that are less than 40 calories per 100ml can be used freely.Meat and poultry - Bacon, beef, chicken, ham, pork, turkey ect. all skin and visible fat removed. Mince should contain less than 5% fat. Most things like sausages and burgers have a syn value.Fish and seafood - Cod, haddock, prawns, tuna etc, free unless canned in oilPulses - beans (including baked beans), lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans etcRice, pasta and grains - Couscous, all types of dried pasta, quinoa, bulgar wheat etc, all types of riceStarchy vegetables - potatoes, peas, sweetcorn, parsnips, sweet potatoes etcSo as you can see that is a huge list! All of it can be enjoyed freely, and will fill you up. No weighing, no counting. It is pretty easy to create whole meals from just the free foods.Healthy ExtrasHealthy extras are additional foods that our bodies need for health. On the Extra Easy plan you chose one 'a' choice and one 'b' choice per day.'A' choices are dairy foods that are high in calcium, for example an 'a' choice could be:350ml skimmed milk28g cheddar42g feta42g mozzarella42g reduced fat cheddar3 mini babybel light cheeses'B' choices are high in fibre, for instance:35g porridge oats2 weetabix57g wholemeal bread4 original ryvita
Simple right? It is a lot to get you head around at first, but I have planned out every meal for the first 2 weeks. I then need to evaluate how much food is left in the house to plan my next 2 weeks. I have taken a "before" picture, but I look so disgusting that I don't feel confident to post it yet, at least not until I have lost some weight and there is some noticeable difference! I will of course be sharing the best recipes that I find and create myself!